One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas #3)(55)

“Is it morning? Oh my Lord, Rhett. What have we done? Do you think Sawyer and Jill are up?”

“We had an amazing night, darlin’. Don’t worry about Jill and Sawyer. They’ll sleep for another hour. I do early morning chores when they work the bar.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed the lobe, sending hot little waves down her naked body. “But I do have to let my dog outside. Don’t go away. I’ll be right back.”

He reminded her of a body builder, standing there all naked, his wide shoulders narrowing down to a slim waist and narrow hips.

“How about waffles for breakfast?” he asked.

“I can’t stay for breakfast. I’ve got to get dressed and get home.” She pushed the covers back and started picking up her clothing. High color filled her cheeks.

“Is that a blush I see?” he asked.

“I don’t… I haven’t… I mean…” she stammered.

“I know, Leah. I never thought you were.” He chuckled.

Their eyes met and held. He crossed the room, picked up her bra, and helped her put it on, then kissed her on the forehead. “I could take today off since the ground is wet, but I really do have to do maintenance on the tractor.”

“I’m from a ranchin’ family, Rhett. I know what happens on days when you can’t be in the fields. I’ll see you tonight at the bar and tomorrow at the festival.”

“And then Monday we have a date, right?”

The dog scratched on the door and whined pitifully.

“Nothing can change any of that.” She smiled. “Dammit sounds pretty desperate. You should go.”

He eased the door shut behind him, and she finished dressing. When he returned, she was sitting in the recliner, putting on her last boot. He bent at the waist and cupped her cheeks in his palms. The kiss they shared then was one of those hungry ones that made her forget about breathing.

“Take that home with you and think about me today, because I won’t be able to get you out of my mind,” he said.

“Me either.” She stood up, rolled up onto her toes, and kissed him.

If she hadn’t stopped to pet the two cats, she might have gotten out of the bunkhouse without being seen, but they looked so cute sitting on the coffee table. And their little eyes looked up at her and begged for a moment of attention.

She heard a door squeak and looked toward Rhett’s bedroom, but it was closed. Every hair on her arms stood up and her neck itched as a scorching-hot blush made its way from her toenails to her scalp.

“Good mornin’, Leah.” Jill yawned. “You arrivin’ or leavin’?”

“Leavin’,” she said.

“Got time for a piece of pie? I woke up early and hungry. I could make coffee to go with it.”

“I’d better not,” Leah said.

“Well then, I’ll see you at the bar or at this big festival thing tomorrow. I’m glad I’m already married, so I don’t have to run in the race. You and Rhett have a plan?”

Leah shook her head.

“You’d best make one and get it settled tonight. I’ll tell him that you’ll be waiting for him outside the bar when we close up. Have you told him about this shit with Tanner?”

“No. I should, but the time hasn’t been right.”

“Promise me you won’t hurt Rhett. He’s a good man, Leah.”

“I couldn’t hurt Rhett. Not for the world,” Leah said as she hurried out the door. Did folks think that she had a thing for Tanner and for Rhett? She’d talk to Rhett soon, but she could care less what the rest of the people in Burnt Boot thought.

She parked in her usual spot under the carport and eased the front door open. She could hear Mavis in the kitchen, rattling pots and pans and talking to the ranch cook. Then her voice got louder and louder as she made her way from the kitchen to the foyer. Leah’s feet were glued to the floor. She couldn’t make them move, no matter how badly she hated facing off with her grandmother.

Russell came in right behind her and quickly put a bag in her hands. “Good mornin’, Mama,” he said when Mavis reached the foyer. “Leah and I got up early and ran in to Gainesville to put a bank deposit in the night deposit slot. We stopped by the doughnut shop.”

Leah held out the bag. “I know how you like maple long johns, Granny.”

“Well, bless your heart, but don’t think for one minute that butterin’ me up is going to make me change my mind about that hippie biker that Gladys hired. No, sir. When I speak, it’s the law. Now y’all come on in the kitchen. We’ve made bacon and eggs and hot biscuits. We’ll have the doughnuts for our breakfast dessert,” she said.

Russell draped an arm around Leah. “Rhett?” he whispered.

She nodded. “Muenster or St. Jo?”

“She works in St. Jo but lives a few miles away in Muenster, so both.”

“I owe you one.”

“I will collect it.”

“Anytime.” She smiled. “A bank deposit? For real?”

“Put it in this morning on my way back home. I did not lie.”

“What are you two talking about?” Mavis asked.

“Whether or not we should have bought a dozen doughnuts for later,” Leah answered.